Inflation target cut further
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THE Commerce Ministry has cut its inflation target for the year to negative territory - minus 0.2 per cent to minus 1 per cent - much lower than the previous projection of plus 0.6-1.3 per cent, following the continued drop in oil prices and sluggish dome
This represents the first annual decline in prices since 2009, when inflation contracted by 0.9 per cent during the global economic downturn and the government’s measures to relieve the cost-of-living burden.
The ministry reported Thursday that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September had fallen 1.07 per cent year on year, declining for the ninth consecutive month.
Month-on-month inflation was down 0.05 per cent.
The CPI for the January-September period was down 0.9 per cent from the first three quarters of last year.
“Inflation could be lower than expected this year, since oil prices are much lower in the world market,” said Somkiat Triratpan, inspector-general of the Commerce Ministry and director of its Policies and Trade Strategies Bureau.
He made the remark as the ministry announced its revised 2015 forecast for a contraction of 0.2-1 per cent in light of an expected slowdown of Thai economic growth, lower fuel prices in the global market, and the depreciation of the baht.
